Chapter 357: The Homecoming Vagabond

The Fairy Walker’s words stunned Baiyi. He had not, for once, imagined that his cheap wife would be a scam psychic, too!

However, before Baiyi could ask her for the reason why she had made that statement, she continued, “I’m not sure if Tree Gramps had some other angles he had to factor in, but I am sure that something perilous enough to shake the entire Eternal Tree Ocean would be a catastrophe of massive proportions. If you deliberately turn away from it, you’ll be permitting the loss of many innocent lives. I’m pretty sure that is something my precious darling would be unable to bear, right?”

Baiyi went quiet for a while before saying, “That serious?”

“Oh, look at you! You did not challenge my claims; instead, you became concerned about the severity of this unknown threat. I really do know my darling like the back of my hand!” The Fairy Walker cheered.

Baiyi did not deny any of that because she was right. If this catastrophe was one which was as disastrous as those that happened in Gouve, then, yes, he would be unable to sit still as people died. The Fairy Walker did know Baiyi well; this was helped by the fact that they had exchanged memories, so she knew more than others would expect.

“But, really, darling, you do not need to jump into that business so quickly; for the time being, we’ll just follow your plan,” The Fairy Walked cooed as she gently grabbed his arm. “Didn’t Tree Gramps say that your Gnosis of Nature is not tarnished, so… just go with the flow and see how things naturally turn out.”

“Um, I don’t think those two are the same kind of nature ¹ ,” Baiyi replied, stifling a chuckle.

“Hey, I may not be an expert in the knowledge of druids, but I know what the Gnosis of Nature is. It’s more than just the flowers, groves, and woodlands of nature,” the Fairy Walker replied with surprising confidence. “If we can’t even go with the flow of Nature, then how could you ever understand the Gnosis?”

‘Gah! My cheap wife has turned into a scamming psychic,’ Baiyi lamented quietly.

However, he could not forget her words, and now it made him even more anxious of the mystery Gnosis of Nature he had yet to wrap his head around. In the end, he gave in to his curiosity and began to poke the Eight Walker in the Void, and on the outside, the group continued on their journey to Eom Village.

In a bit of consciousness, Baiyi summarized the issue at hand, using clear and precise terms, before listing a series of questions which he wanted answers for. After that, he waited patiently for the Eight Walker to read it and ponder before sharing its wisdom with him.

By the time they reached Eom Village, the Eighth Walker finally gave a very short reply: “?”

‘Did he even listen to what I said, at all?’ Baiyi fumed, wishing he could just end the conversation right there and then, but he could not; hence, he chose to re-create the first message and send it to the Eight Walker. It was at that time that the group noticed a crowd of fairies ahead, waiting at the gate of the village.

As the poster village for traditionalist fairies, the architecture in Eom Village was archaic, designed to reflect their rich culture of old. Not a single human-like building could be found; instead, there were a few sycamore trees with extensive branches and large twigs, on which all kinds of treehouses were atop of. This way, the natural habitat was not damaged in the slightest. If one were to look from a distance, they might not even know that there was a village here.

Standing at the forefront of the crowd of fairies was an old male fairy, who had something similar to the frail physique of a dehydrated twig. He also had a beard that had grown so long, it was as though his chin was playing host to a white waterfall. As fairies could live past a million years, similar to members of the dragonkin, fairies who looked old was sure to have seen much in their lifetime.

This old fairy stood out not because of his age, but because of the long wooden walking stick that he used. He was the Elder of Eom Village — a position akin to the chief of a human village.

When the Fairy Walker spotted this old fairy, especially his face which resembled a wrinkled tree bark, she dashed to his side in excitement and grabbed ahold of his arm, and in a voice filled with shock, she cried, “Frances? You’re still alive?!”

“B-boss? Boss! It really is you!” The Elder, who had been wearing a solemn expression only moments ago, suddenly brightened up and exclaimed.

Baiyi remained standing in place, watching the scene of a reunion ensue before his eyes.

It turned out that this Elder was none other that one of the young hooligans who followed the Fairy Walker to wreak havoc in the village, in her younger days. In fact, he was the youngest of the hooligan group, and back then, the Fairy Walker made sure she exploited him to the max, ordering him to run errands and blaming him for the pranks that went awry. She had done all that because she was the boss, of the young hooligan group that is.

Neither had imagined that they would ever be reunited, especially in such an extraordinary way!

This was all thanks to the long lifespan that fairies were naturally blessed with.

The Elder respectfully invited Baiyi and his gang into the village, and at that moment, the two Gale Snipers who the group had met earlier could be spotted supervising the crowd outside Eom Village. As the two archers carried out their patrols, some fairies would whisper into their ears questions like “Was that the Zephyr of the great, great ancestral generation?”, while others whispered remarks like “That’ll explain why you two think her archery skill is unparalleled. But, why does she look like that?”

“I think this is called a Soul Armature, something humans summon. I have heard from some humans, who visited our village in the past, that only the mightiest of heroes could return as Soul Armatures! She is the greatest Zephyr we ever had, right? Maybe that’s why she was able to be summoned like that…”

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“Oh, but my grandpa would, sometimes, talk about her, but I don’t understand. From his stories, she did not seem like someone who was popular and well-loved. In fact, he only mentioned her when he thought I was acting like a spoiled brat again, after which he gives me a lengthy lecture. Whenever I ask him for details about her, he would suspiciously avoid the question, with a rueful expression on his face.”

“I heard from Mr. Bear that this Zephyr used to love stealing the food he stored for upcoming winters, and as a result of that, he would go hungry every time he woke up from hibernation. I don’t get it; If she was the Zephyr, why was she so unruly?”

“This reminds me of something! When I told the mystical beasts of her return, they began to act weird; they became skittish, as though they were scared. I have never ever seen them lose their composure before!”

All these were enough for an outside to tell that the younger generation of fairies knew nothing of the legends of their greatest Zephyr, and that lack of knowledge, in turn, now fueled their curiosity.

Unfortunately for them, however, the Fairy Walker did not have the time to host a meeting with them. Following the Elder, she dragged Baiyi’s arm, pulling him along with her into the Elder’s house, which was situated at the top of a sycamore tree. The students had to wait outside, though.

The fairies inside the village were just as curious as the ones waiting outside the village gate, and the students were soon surrounded by curious fairies, who bombarded them with all manner of questions. Their vigor almost terrified Little Mia.

Furthermore, the surrounding fairies, both male and female, were very beautiful, causing the students to stare blankly.

When one thought the situation could not get any worse, a single glance was all they needed to tell that the fairies were speaking in a language the students did not understand. Mia and the others could only speak the common language. Despite applying immense brainpower, the fairies’ words only sounded gibberish to the students. Hence, both parties were left with no other choice but to settle for the old art of Sign Language.

Soon, an excited Mia could be seen waving her arms around wildly, in a bid to introduce herself to the beautiful fairies as best as she could. Her actions looked awkward, but the lass was elated.

Meanwhile, as soon as Baiyi entered the Elder’s home, he felt deeply embarrassed. This was because the fairy, who looked old enough to be everyone’s grandfather, had prostrated himself on the ground before him and the Fairy Walker, begging for forgiveness!

“Honestly, we regretted our actions the very moment you left.” The Elder sighed, with a pain-filled voice. “We were too selfish, to the point that we banished our own kin! After that, when we heard that you had vanished, we grieved even harder. We have always promised ourselves to aid each other no matter what happens, but with you, we betrayed that promise!”

“Many of us never forgave ourselves. I never did, neither did my father or my grandfather, so it is quite fortunate that you have returned to us! I can finally… say what I’ve always wanted to say.”

The Elder’s words were filled with so much sincerity, Baiyi felt his own chest get heavier.

“Oh, it’s alright!” The Fairy Walker replied dismissively, and gently pulled the old fairy up. “I got to see the outside world after that, and lemme tell ya, there were so many wonders out there! It was really a blessing, you know. I’ve never hated any of you.”

Upon hearing that, the Elder burst into tears. He really wished that her body was not an ordinary militia armor, because she was capable of ending a thousand-year-old grudge with her gentle smile.

After that, the two proceeded to catch up on all that had happened to each other after their separation. Baiyi was left alone, forgotten.

Not that the Fifth Walker minded, though. He just allowed them to make up for the lost time.

After a while, the Elder turned to face Baiyi — who was not so sure if the old fairy had forgiven himself — and said, “Looks like you found yourself an exceptionally reliable partner, boss. Congratulations!”

“Oh, yes~! He is the best man one could ever find in this world! He is strong; he is gentle, and he accepts every part of me! The moment he first gazed at me and promised to shoulder my troubles and my fate, I decided that he is the man of my dreams!” The Fairy replied, feeling contented and in love. This made Baiyi feel even more embarrassed.

Frankly, had he know just what kind of life the Fairy Walker had had before he met her, he would have never said something like that.

“If I must pick a bone from this otherwise flawless man, it would be the fact that he has surrounded himself with too many women! Oh, and how he dithers in making a choice!” The Fairy Walker grumbled.

The Elder’s gaze became a glare, making Baiyi feel like intense heat beams were boring into his face. He cleared his throat and spoke with the tone of a wise old man. “Young man! Dithering will only make life close the door of happiness to you. Listen to your elders; a woman like our boss has always been the dream fairy of many of us!”

Baiyi was speechless. He wished he could tell the Elder that if they decided to be technical, Baiyi would be his elder, instead.

However, Baiyi chose to pull the Fairy Walker over and whisper in her ears for a few seconds, reminding her about the Caudillo Butterfly bow and Grandfather Tree’s business.

The Fairy nodded and set the topic of conversation back on course, beginning with the Caudillo Butterfly bow.

As soon as the Elder heard her question, he became livid and bellowed, “That vile Fairy King! H—he broke our sacred oath, thereby betraying us!”